Wounded
by TheRoseShadow21
Summary: Aki is the transfer student trying to build her new life after being in hospital for a year.Yusei is the boy who cannot talk. Can two broken people come together and make eachother whole? Set in an AU.Rated T just incase.
1. First Day,Emmy

The girl standing in front of her had short green hair streaked with red tied into a ponytail with a large yellow bow. Her grey eyes glittered with mischief and she was beaming.

"Well, nice way to make an impression."

"Sorry." A sleepy 15 year old Aki Izayoi lifted her head off the table, brushed her messy fringe out of her eyes.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Aki Izayoi."

The girl laughed. "I know. You introduced yourself to us this morning. Its lunch now. I'm Emmy Greene."

Aki screwed her eyes up in confusion at the non-Japanese name. Emmy noticed and laughed again. Clearly she was a girl prone to laughter attacks.

"This isn't the International Domino School for no reason!At least 40% of all students here are Foreign, and a further 25% are half-foreign. School inspectors have described us as the world in one school. It's been like this for 2 decades AT LEAST…not to mention…"

Aki smiled. "Talk about fact overload!Are you always like this?" She felt at ease with this girl, like she wouldn't ever go back to the way she was. She glanced briefly at the long blazer sleeves covering her skinny arms and gulped. Then she smiled again.

"Am I going to be shown around then, Emmy-Chan?"

"Sure!"

And shown around she was .She soon discovered that the school accommodated both middle schoolers and highschoolers, explaining why they called her and Emmy "4th Year" girls. She learned there were over 20 after school/breakfast clubs to attend, and every student had to attend at least one. Art appealed to her. Her therapist, as well as her parents, had said that art could be a good way of helping her. Not to mention she had skill with a paintbrush. She met Emmy's older brother , a calm brown haired 6th year by the name of Charlie , and Emmy's younger sister , a 3rd year called Lily who had the same green hair as her sister , but brown eyes like Charlie. They too made friends easily with her, and took pride in dragging her around the school and pointing out everything from the bathrooms to the music studio. Despite it being her first day there, the sibling group did a brilliant job of making her feel she'd been there forever.

Even so, she found all this social interaction overwhelming. Considering she hadn't talked to anyone in a year, her world having been that of the unconscious. And the hospital, when she was awake. She was glad to get back to class when lunch break ended.

As she sat back down at her desk, she noticed him. A boy with spiky black hair and deep blue eyes, talking to a boy with spiky orange hair and odd face tattoos. Or rather, listening to the redhead talk and then rapidly making signs with his hands to reply.

Emmy noticed her looking.  
"Ohh, so mute boy caught your eye then?"

"N-no!Just wondering…"  
"That's Yusei Fudo and his friend Connor Hogan. But everyone calls him Crow."

Aki looked blankly at her.  
"Blue eyed is Yusei, the other is Crow. They've been friends since forever. Apparently Yusei used to talk, but not since he was childhood trauma…He's smart though, but got held back first year because of his lack of speech. Crow is a repeater as well …..He kept bunking last year."

"Oh. I see." A sad story, she thought. Except she couldn't, since she didn't know the full details.

"Want me to introduce you?"

"No, no, it's fine! I've met too many today, I'll have trouble with the names."

An arched eyebrow."Really now?"

"yeah .See , you are Emmy Greene , your siblings are Charile and Lily girl over there is Eliza Redwood , he's Kazumi Yamamoto , those two are Kiomi and Miori Akazawa, she's Tsukimi 's …Len Dickinson and his friends are Luke Ashe and Minori a lot of names."

"I guess. Oh well, Teach is coming anyway. I'll have to get you acquainted later!"

Aki sighed and mentally facepalmed. That girl was persistent!

…

Later, at home, Aki stood in front of her mirror, wearing only her underwear and school skirt, regarding her arms in the mirror. Across each wrist was a neat red scar.

_Some childhood trauma._

She had spent most of her life trying to hide what she had wrong with her and attempting normal life. Was it possible that in this new school, with new people, that she could reveal herself? Especially to that Yusei boy.

_What am I thinking?_

She laughed bitterly, and continued getting changed.

**Kind of a short first chapter, but I promise the next ones will be longer. And not all those names Aki mentioned are going to become OC' Greene siblings are official OCs though. I own them , this plot and nothing else. I hope you enjoyed this chapter .Please leave feedback!**


	2. That Sunday

**Second chapter!This will give a bit of background as to how the relationship between Yusei and Aki started-since the third chapter will take place during their Christmas Holidays-near enough 3 months after the time for this chapter.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

Aki yawned, and rolled over to look at the clock on her bedside table .The time was apparently 8:30.

"OH CRAP!" Aki got up, throwing aside the bedcovers and ran to pull open her curtains.

It was only as sunlight hit her face that she remembered it was Sunday.  
She sighed, tidied the bedcovers a bit and considered going back to bed. She soon decided against it. The random worry had woken her up fully. Yawning a little, she went to the bathroom.

20 minutes later, she was dressed in a red pleated knee-length skirt and white shirt and sitting downstairs pouring herself some milk. Her mother, a woman who looked almost like her daughter but worn about the edges came in.

"Any plans?" she asked.

Aki had a think "Emmy-Chan's house is nearby. I might go drop in on her .Maybe look at a few shops."

Her mother looked worried.

"Are you sure you'll be all right?" Brown eyes crinkled worriedly.

"Yeah. I need to get my confidence back-the therapist back in Kyoto said. Besides, what am I supposed to do all day?" She pulled a face, hating to have to use that reason. One of the things she had hoped to throw away with her new start , but she knew that it would work.

It 's mother smiled. "You know, you can't use that card for everything….but go on then, have fun and take your phone, Ok?"

"Not a problem. Thanks mum." She finished her milk, washed out the cup and ran upstairs to collect her phone and pink cardigan before going down and out of the door , yelling a "See you later !" behind her.

_One hour later_

The shop caught her eye. The window had clothes hanging on line, rather than being worn by a mannequin, headless or otherwise. The shop name was spelt in simple, italic dark purple script: _Ayaka's _.The shop looked interesting, pretty yet modest to her. Exactly the type of clothes she'd like. She decided to go in for a while, before heading over to Emmy's.

The first thing she noticed was that the clothes were arranged in colours. Reds, brown and pink shades were in front, blacks, whites and greys right at the back, the other colours in between and in order. The second thing she noticed that was the room was "L" shaped, and she was in the long part of it. Walking down, she turned to discover the cashier's desk, shelves with accessories and shoes (once again in colour order) and a door in the wall.

As she tried to figure out what the door's purpose was, it opened, and a spiky haired boy stepped out .

Aki blinked, blushed furiously, embarrassed at being caught staring at a door.

"Sorry…um..." she tried to place the face, convinced she had seen it somewhere…"Sorry, Fudo-kun!"  
Yusei 's brow wrinkled , he reached into the pocket of his dark blue jeans , pulled out a notebook and pen and started to write. When he had finished, he showed the page to her.

"_Not a problem. Just call me Yusei. I'm assuming my mum isn't here. Looking to buy something?"_

Aki smiled  
"No, no, just looking around. The arrangement caught my eye, and being new around here I just decided to…look around. I'm actually on my way to Emmy-Chan's house."

Yusei scribbled something else.

"_Emmy Greene-san? From our class?"_

"Yes."

"_I see. So you're fitting in all right?"_

"I've only been in school one day," She laughed "certainly I fit in better than I thought, but who can say for sure?"

"_You have a point there. But I think you'll do fine."_

She disagreed big time with him "Really?"

"_Yeah. You seem strong to me. Like you've been through a fair bit, but still survived."_

Aki couldn't say anything to that. She blinked rapidly and made goldfish motions .Yusei wote something else.

"_May I try something?"_ efficiently changing the subject

"Sure…"

He reached out behind her and traced something on her back with his finger , gently , as if trying to not scare her. She was startled, but managed to stay still.

Then, a light bulb moment

"October 15th, a month's time. When's your birthday?"

Yusei went back to notebook communicating

"_June 21__st__ .I'm amazed you could work out what I was trying to come?"_

"Well…dunno really. Do you do that often?"

"_I did with my mum a lot when I was little…she taught me. We still talk like that sometimes. And I do that with a few close friends. But not many get it, so not often"_

Aki smiled at his openness

"Well, I certainly got it …but I should go now…tell your mum she may have a new customer, OK?"

Yusei gave her a thumbs-up, and she went on her way.

…

The next week went by. Like Yusei predicted, she fitted in well. She joined the Art club that ran after school Wednesdays, and the cooking club on Fridays, and made more friends than she ever thought possible. She also became closer to Yusei, and his strange friend Crow.

And the next Sunday, she went back to _Ayaka's._ Met him again. They talked, both by notebook and symbols traced on the back. He attempted to teach her the basics of sign language. They spent times of silence together, sitting back to back on the sofa and reading.

And that was where their story began.

**I think this was longer …But anyway , I definitely will not be updating before 20****th**** June…but until then , please keep the feedback coming and take a look at "Do you remember?" and "Child of the law" too if possible.**

**Thank you!**


	3. A Promise

**In advance, I do not own any of the songs used in this chapter.**

Once again , Aki checked the contents of her handbag.1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8…yes , all the small, brightly wrapped Christmas gifts were there , as well as her mobile phone , some tissues ,a bottle of water ,purse and spare sighed. As usual , she had arrived early at the bench in front of the ice-cream shop-the usual meeting place of her ,Emmy,Lily,Yusei,Crow, and four others she had grown close two in the past few months. That day, it was the 21st of December, and they had all agreed to meet up and hold their own Christmas "party" together, since they were all going to spend the actual Christmas day with herself was going back to Kyoto with her parents to spend the holiday with her aunt, uncle and cousins .Not something she was looking forward to , but she felt she could handle it now.

The noise of footsteps brought her out of the not-too-nostalgic memories of her old home and school. She looked up, and her cheeks went pinker than the cold had already made them, and waved.

Yusei came over, sat on the bench

*Am I too early?* He signed.

*Not as early as me.I've been here 15 minutes at least.*she replied.

Yusei tilted his head slightly to the side, slightly frowning, his way of saying "Why?"

Aki laughed a little "I have a hatred of being late to anything. So I make sure I arrive early. If I am early, then I cannot be late."

It was Yusei's turn to chuckle, a chuckle that had only a faint sound. They smiled .brown chocolate pools looked into two round orbs of night sky.

"Yusei-sempai!Aki-sempai!"

Lily ran towards them, dressed in what appeared to be a black skirt, orange tights, brown shoes, pink jacket from which the collar of a yellow shirt could be seen, mismatched gloves (one was green, and the other was blue-and-purple striped) and the school hat. Emmy followed, dressed more sensibly in a red sports jacket, black jeans, white trainers, and a black woolly hat, gloves and scarf. Emmy grinned, and then looked Aki up and down.

"Can't tell much from the coat, but you appear to be looking good."

"The others should be here soon, then we can set off and then you can see my outfit." Aki grinned.

Sure enough, the others soon arrived. Crow, typically was the last, and when Yusei had managed to defuse the argument between him and Delphine Nakamura by drily signing that they were "just like a married couple", they set off to the karaoke restaurant.

…

"3 orange juices , 2 coco-cola's , one sparkling water , one strawberry milkshake and one chocolate milkshake?" The waiter who carried the drink looked in nervously at the bunch of teenagers, most laughing and squabbling over songs.

Delphine noticed, stepped away from the group and approached him.

"Thanks .I'll take those." She easily took the tray, and set it on the table. The waiter left , closing the door.  
Aki looked up at that.

"Our drinks!" She said, reaching for the chocolate milkshake. Crow, Emmy, Yusei, Amy Grace and Delphine also picked their drinks. Lily and the other girl, Sayuri Hara, didn't even bother to look up from where they were busily looking for a good song to sing along to but Lily yelled.

"If you want to live, don't touch the strawberry milkshake!"

"Noted!" Crow grinned, giving a mock salute .It had no effect, as Lily wasn't even looking, and he visibly drooped. Emmy and Delphine laughed.

"Hah! " Delphine gave an evil look at him "That teaches you to flirt with my bestie's little sister!"

"I wasn't flirting!" Crow looked genuinely put out.

"You were!"

"Wasn't!"

"Hogan, you are SUCH a liar…."

"I found one!" Everyone turned to look at Sayuri, who was grinning and already looking for a microphone.

"A song, Sayuri-Chan?" Aki asked.

"Yep."

"Ok , everyone, let's be quiet for Sayuri-Chan's big performance . Delphine-san, you and your husband will have to cool it for now."

Delphine gave her and Crow black looks, but Aki didn't mind. She actually enjoyed the feeling of joining in with friendly teasing-something she never really knew was possible. The group quietened, and Sayuri took her place. Shoving her dark brown fringe away from her eyes, she started the song.

"Furi-tsudzukeru ame netsu wo ubatteku

Namari-iro Ni o'owareta sora

Dore kurai no jikan ga tatta no?

Ho'o wo tsutau shizuku wa kodoku

itsuka koe ga todoku to iu no nara nando de mo namae wo yobu

sore demo tarinai kawaita kokoro wo mitasu tame fumikonde iku

Gloaming! Disturb in distance of stars ki no muku mama

Groovy! Revive a wish and revise your stance iro tsuite iku

Sunday... nyuudougumo ni good morning call omoi nosete

tada tsuyoku anata wo motometeita

aketa mado no sukima kara fuku

kaze no kokochi yo sa ni mi wo yudane

hareta sora wo mau tori-tachi wa

Jibun no tsubasa de habataiteku

Sore wo nagamete omou kako ni egaita mirai no jibun wa

tanchou na shikisai dake de owaru mono de wa nakatta hazu dato wa

Gloaming! Disturb in distance of stars ishi wo matte

Groovy! Revive a wish and revise your stance irodotteku

Sunday... nyuudougumo ni good morning call asu wo mezasu

Egao no sono saki ni michi ga tsudzuku

Anata ga mita sora wa koko de wa naku

Tooku hanareteita chi de atte mo

Watashi ga ima miteru sora to onaji

Zutto tsudzuiteiru tsunagatteru

Gloaming! Disturb in distance of stars ishi wo matte

Groovy! Revive a wish and revise your stance irodotteku

Sunday... nyuudougumo Ni good morning call asu wo mezasu

Egao no sono saki Ni michi ga tsudzuku"

When she finished, they all applauded, and Sayuri took a bow, giggling and sitting back down, causing her blue dress to become rumpled.

"Not my type of song, but pretty good." Lily told her "But I'm surprised you like Doujin Music…never met a Touhou fan in my life, despite it apparently being popular..." Lily continued babbling in Lily-style.

"Actually, I like it as well." Aki said.

Lily gave her a _look_.Yusei wrote into his notebook and showed it to her.

"_And so do I." _

Lily pouted. In that case , I'll give you a little performance with REAL music." She scrolled through , and picked a song straight away.

"You've never tried to understand in any way

But I believed in what you said

How long did I accept what you were telling me

Though there were lies in everything?

I am sick of your denials, sick of excuses

I can't be what you want

I can't stand your fake smile

That's right

I'll never go, never go, never go back to your way

You will never understand what I have become

All I want, all I want, all I want is in my hands

If you never change yourself I will fall to pieces

You never chose me, that is what you've often said

But I could say the same of you

You never wanted me to be happy at all

You didn't care about my life

I am sick of your lectures, sick of selfishness

I can't be what you need

I can't stand your fake eyes

That's right

I'll never go, never go, never go back to your way

You will never understand what I have become

All I want, all I want, all I want is in my hands

If you never change yourself I will fall to pieces

I don't wanna lose my control

I'm not an idiot, I'm not an idiot

I don't wanna be your slave forever

That is what you wanted, that is what you wanted

I'd like to go to where I feel safe

I know my mistake

I wasn't thinking for me

So I became like this

But I will end this game

What will it take for you to fade away?

I'll never go, never go, never go back to your way

You will never understand what I have become

All I want, all I want, all I want is in my hands

I can never understand why you don't admit

That you're wrong, that you're wrong, that you're wrong about my life

You will never let me go so I will free myself

All I need, all I need, all I need is in my heart

If you never change yourself I will fail to pieces"

When Lily sat down, she gave Aki a look.

"Well?"

"Never heard this song before…..Never heard this band before." Aki hadn't fully understood the lyrics, since they were in English, but she had sort of liked it.

"How can you have not heard of Knotlamp? Seriously?" Lily gave Aki another look, which, combined with Lily's mismatched clothes, made Aki have the biggest laughing fit she'd had all evening.

At that moment, their meals came in. Together, they enjoyed their meals and chatted. They got through a few more songs , amongst them Ayane's Arrival of Tears , Daizystripper's Shikisai Vivid , and Sphere's Ashita E No Kaeri , in turn , Amy , Delphine , Sayuri , Emmy , Lily , Crow and Yusei all turned to look expectantly at Aki.

"What?"

"You and Yusei haven't sung. Now, with Yusei it's obvious, but you…."

"Do I have to?I don't sing very well, and you guys were all so…."

"Please, Aki-sempai?"

Aki sighed.

"Fine, I will. But since we'll have to go in about half an hour, is it OK if I give out your presents first?" It would give her a bit of time, to decide her song, and to calm her nerves.

She unzipped her bag, and pulled out the parcels one by one, until they were all in her lap. The others did the same .Then, there was a mad 5-minute scrabble of giving, receiving, and putting their own presents and cards into their bags.

Then Emmy turned to Aki.

"Up you get then!"

Aki pulled a face .

"Ok, Ok!" She picked up her microphone and went to the front. When she got there, she counted backwards from 20 in her head until she was calm. Then, the song started, and she sang along.

mou ai wo kakuritsuku shite

kare hateta namida no ato to

shizumi yuku tsuki wo kasanete hitotsu ni nareta nara

Epilogue sashite tsuraite motto chikaku e izanae

Ready For konna shuuen mo ai to yobu nara kegarenaki ya ima

owaranai sekai de me wo tojite boku wa

kimi no namae wo yobu darou

ai wo shimesu sube wo ushinai kakete mo

subete ga te ni hairu sekai nara "Saigo" wa iranai darou

kouya wo koete zetsubou ga oshiyoseteru

tada ai wo motometeitemo

yasashisa wa toki ni tsumetai

shizumi yuku unmei no uzu uwabe wo kazatte mo

Epilogue dakite uketomete motto tooku e izanae

Ready FOr tsumi mo aganai mo ai to yobu nara ataeta moe ima

owaranai sekai de me wo tojite boku wa

kimi no sugata wo omotteru

koware kake no kokoro no kagi wo sagashite

subete wo misueteta hitomi ni wa kanashi sugiru story

yozora ni ukabu akai tsuki ga naiteiru

Epilogue sashite tsurameite motto chikaku e izanae

Ready For konna omoi demo ai to yobu kara kegarenaki ya ima

owaranai sekai de me wo tojite boku wa

kimi no namae wo yobu darou

ai wo shimesu sube wo ushinai kakete mo

subete ga te ni hairu sekai nara "Saigo" wa iranai darou

kouya no naka de hitori machi tsuzuke inotteru sora e—

…

They were walking home, hand in hand. The reaction to Aki's performance had been one that surprised her .Her voice was lower than that of the original singer, but they had all liked it.  
That had made her feel really good about herself.

Yusei had, in his own silent way, insisted on walking Aki home. So, even though the route meant walking past his own house, that is what they were doing. When they got to her house, Aki let go of Yusei's hand and turned to go to the door. Then, she paused. Turned back.

"I don't want to go back." She said. A simple sentence, but it meant a lot more than simply going back to her hometown. Yusei looked at her .In the darkness; she couldn't tell what she was thinking. Then, carefully, he walked a few steps backwards, until he was standing underneath the light of a lamppost.

*If anything happens while you are there, then call me. I'll come and get you. That's a promise*

Aki blinked. Then nodded.

*Thank you.*

Yusei nodded , then turned and walked back to his house. For a second , Aki looked at the space which he had occupied briefly .Then , she walked up to her door and went inside.

**Songs used:**

**liLA'c Records-Monochrome Sky**

**Knotlamp-Fall to pieces**

**Asriel-Kegare Naki Yume**

**Anyway , I hope you enjoyed that chapter!**


	4. The Cousins

"Hello, Aunt Miyako, Uncle Yoshiro." Aki smiled politely , trying hard to hide the discomfort she felt when around them , and doing her best to appear friendly .After all , This was her father's sister and brother –in-law , and being civil to them could be a potential olive branch to extend to her father.

Her aunt and Uncle returned the greeting, and soon they were all looked around for her 3 cousins, but could not see them. She assumed that the elder two were out, or on their computers or something, and felt relieved because of that.

At that moment, she heard a noise in the direction of the living room. She turned, and a few second later, a little girl with long dark brown hair in twin tails and the green eyes that the females on her father's side had been blessed with appeared-The youngest cousin, Michiru. She blinked a moment, then ran up to Aki and hugged her.

Aki laughed.

"Nice to see you too, Michi-Chan." She informed the tiny 4 year old. "Want to come and help me unpack?"

"Yep!" The two of them left to go upstairs, leaving the two sets of parents together.

Miyako was the first to speak.

"How has she been then?" A normal question, with so much weighed upon it.

Setsuko was the first to answer

"A lot better. She sleeps through the night, she has friends, laughs more, doing a lot better in school. Not that she wasn't getting good grades before…"

"Agreed. The move was good for her."

Miyako smiled. The rest of the questions could come later. Hearing that her niece was on the mend was good enough for her.

"I admit, you were right, little brother. Now, I assume you know where your room is?"

…

Aki slung her now-empty suitcase into the bottom of the guest bedroom cupboard, listening to Michiru babble on about her preschool, Santa Claus and various other things that occupy the mind of 4 year olds. She checked her mobile phone was still in her pocket, then sat on the bed.

Michiru paused and gave her cousin a look.

"Aki-nee-san, are you even listening?" The look on the child's face looked so grownup, that Aki assumed she had copied it off her older brother or sister , and laughed.

"Of course I am!"

Michiru nodded seriously, and then said.

"What's it like, at your new school?"

"It's happy. People are pretty friendly, and it's safe. Obviously you have to do work, but its fun too."

Michiru nodded.

"I'm going to start school in April. Kindergarten. "She informed Aki.

Aki smiled.

"I'm sure it will be fun."

"It will!" Michiru jumped off the bed. "Nee-Chan and Onii-Chan are back!" The little girl speeded out of the room, a blur of dark hair and purple shook her head in amazement. She hadn't heard a thing –and she knew that the door was really creaky when opened.

…

It was dinner time, and she was sitting next to her mortal enemy. Sumire Morisaki. Second eldest cousin, a year younger than her, already a beauty with the blond/brown hair, deep green eyes, the perfect features. And a tongue of poison. She absently twisted noodles around her fork, and then turned to Sumire.

"How have you been, Sumire-Chan? You're almost in high school, right?"

Sumire gave her a look, as if to say, isn't that obvious?

"And what about you? You're already in that." The way she drew out the words, combined with the silkiness of her voice, made the words sound patronising, and Aki bristled.

"Yes, I am. First year. Although at my new school I'm actually a fourth year student."

"That's interesting." The oldest cousin, 17 year old Atsushi, commented. "It's a middle school combined with a high school?"

"Yes, that's correct." Aki shot a look at Sumire. She was smiling beatifically, but she was clearly very, very jealous. The girl took a long, meaningful look at Aki's long sleeves and responded.

"How posh. But I suppose things are still the same. "

Aki paused, unsure what her cousin meant. "Same?"

"Yeah, the same, no…"

"There's a tomato!Mama, there's a tomato!" Michiru interrupted waving the offending slice of red food around with her fork, her little face getting more and more agonized by the second.

"I'll take it." Aki reached across for the tomato slice and picked it off the fork, eating it before giving a questioning glance at both Sumire and Atsushi.

Sumire was gracious enough to answer her politely.

"Michiru doesn't like the way they feel in her mouth. Plus, she slipped on one back in September and got a bit of concussion so she had to go to hospital."

"Oh." It still made little sense, but Aki put it down to the randomness of little-kid mind-sets.

After that, dinner passed made small talk with her aunt, uncle and Atsushi, chatted readily with her parents and Michiru, and completely ignored Sumire.

When they had finished, Aki offered to help with the washing up, but her Aunt wouldn't let her.

"It's your holiday, Aki!Go play with Michi-Chan before bedtime if you like!You really look so happy these days; it's really good you know!"

"Thank You, Aunt Miyako." Aki left the kitchen, and went upstairs.

Before she could get to her room, Sumire waylaid her.

"_Really happy_, huh? You? You're the saddest person ever!Don't worry, Mum will figure that out soon enough!" The girl walked off, pleased.

Aki continued to her room, but her steps were .Lonlier.

…

She had read Michiru a bedtime story, and got herself ready for bed .Now, lying in bed, she looked at her mobile, at the home screen background of her, Yusei, Emmy and the others. She looked at the smiling faces.

_This is proof that Sumire is wrong…..isn't it? _

She opened up a blank message and quickly typed.

"_Yusei , My middle cousin is a bitch and a -san is Ok, most of the time he doesn't talk to me anyway, and Michi-Chan's just a sweet little kid but Sumire is just…I feel like I'm back at my old school ."_

She hit send.

Minutes later, a reply came back.

"_You're not. And she's the one with no life." _Attached to the message was a photo of her, outside the school was half in the picture, and Aki remembered that the girl had cracked a joke that was so bad it actually became funny. But she didn't remember Yusei being there at that moment.

"_How and where the hell did u get that?!" _She texted.

The reply came in the form of an emoticon of a laughing face.

Aki laughed silently she sent one last reply, and went to sleep.

"_Thanks."_

The next day, and Christmas Eve, went by without much happening. She avoided Sumire at all costs , and somehow it worked.

On the night of Christmas Eve , before going to bed , she went to her suitcase and looked at her presents , the ones from her friends , and wondered whether she should take them down stairs with her tomorrow , to open with everyone else , or to open them here , in secret. So that Sumire couldn't poke fun at it. Or destroy them . or something.

She shook her head.

_No._ By doing this, she would make Sumire think that she really was the same, bullied, scared, lonely girl she had known before. She wasn't.

_I have changed. I won't let her spoil my Christmas, whatever she does._

**I know that this has taken a long time to be uploaded, and that it is rather short , and I do apologise. I will try to be faster , but I should probably point out , if I can't finish the story before September 4****th**** , then the updates will become even less regular , since I will be starting 6****th**** form on that date , and life will be pretty different for me , and it will take some time getting used to it.**

**Anyway , hope you enjoyed this chapter , short as it was!**


	5. Suprising Christmas

**Is having trouble with this story…But I will try to continue it , since all you reviewers are very supportive : ) **

**Now, to start the chapter….**

Christmas morning.

Rather than sit at the tree, each kid had taken their presents and sat on the sofa to open them. Aki was helping Michiru unwrap hers, and the atmosphere was warm, happy and Christmassy.

Well, until Michiru had finished discovering the dozens of stuffed toys and colouring books that were under the wrapping paper, and started pestering Aki to take hers and open them.

"I wanna see what you have!"

Suddenly, Aki was aware of her parents, her uncle and aunt, and her cousins staring at her.

"It doesn't have to be a performance, does it?" she snapped "I can just go upstairs. I mean, you've all finished anyway."

Michiru blinked, looking confused.

"Well…I need to go make lunch anyway." Miyako stood up.

"I'll help." Aki's mum, Setsuko also stood up. "You better show me what you got later, OK?"

"Yeah."

Soon, all the adults had left the room, and only Atsushi, Sumire ,Aki and Michiru were left in the room.

Michiru picked up a owl shaped soft toy, and made it fly around her head.

Atsushi spoke first.

"So...what are you hiding?" He lazily gathered up his things, and shoved the smaller items into his pockets, and gathering up the rest.

"The fact that she has no real friends."

Atsushi glared at the elder of his little sisters.

"It's true!" Sumire tried to defend herself. "We all know what she's like!"

Atsushi rolled his eyes. Michiru, detecting the awkward atmosphere, stopped flying her owl , and gathered up as many presents as she could , and then left the room.

"Why are we making a big deal out of this anyway?" Atsushi asked.

Aki suppressed a smile. One to her , Zero to Sumire…even if she didn't want to think of herself as competing with her , ever.

Sumire pouted.

"Never mind."

"Although, Aki, you are being a bit over the top…."

Ok, so it was zero both ways. Whatever. Aki got up and walked to the living room door. On her way there, she gave both siblings a look.

"You seem to enjoy spoiling Michi-Chan. "She indicated the presents.

Sumire shrugged.

"She's mum and dad's little surprise you know…And I always wanted a little sister." Sumire sounded as though she was talking to a friend, or someone she liked. Aki didn't think too much of it , and left the room.

…

Aki regarded her necklace in the mirror. It was pretty, delicate silver chain with a pendant consisting of a tiny gold star resting in the middle of an enamel red rose. She wondered if Yusei had made it himself, or if he had got his mother, Rikka, to do it.

She put it on, and then looked for her phone, plugging in her earphones and sitting on the bed. The rhythm of the song "kanojo wa emerald" drifted into her ears and she leaned back, contented.

Asides from that random little argument that morning, the day had actually gone OK. Lunch wasn't awkward at all, Infact, it felt kind of fun, being with her family. Now, all she needed to do was to make sure she lasted up until the New Year.

All of a sudden, her phone vibrated.

She looked at the screen. Yusei's number was plastered across it.

_Huh?_

She turned off the song and answered the phone.

"Hello?" She said uncertainly.

"Hi, Aki." The voice was deep and reassuring. It was also completely alien to her.

"Y-Yusei?"

"That's my name." The voice held a hint of laughter.

"But you….."Aki shook her head in amazement, then realised that he couldn't see her.

"You having a good Christmas?"

"Yeah.i liked the necklace."

"Thought you would."

A pause, as Aki tried to make her brain catch up to this latest turn of events.

Then…an idea…

"Yusei…are you free on New Year's Eve?"

…

30th December. Aki spent most of the day loitering downstairs, near to the front door, earning her many weird looks.

"Planning on running away?" Atsushi teased once.

Rather than get annoyed, Aki simply smiled.

"Wait and see."

Eventually though, she went upstairs, to find her phone and listen to music.

"Ano hito ha kiete itta

Muri ni warau watashi no te wo furiharatte

Kore de mou nandome na no?

Tsuyogaru tabi kizutsuku kokoro kakushita

Maru de maru de higeki no hiroin

Datte zutto gaman shitetan dakara

Kanojo wa emerald

Naite mo naite mo tomedonaku afurete kuru namida

Koboreta emerald

Kirai Ni naritai yo

Mou dare mo shinjirarenai…"

The song had only got that far when finally, the doorbell rang. Setsuko, who was coming out of the kitchen, looked at the door in surprise. Sumire, who was upstairs playing with Michiru, also paused and stared

"I'll answer it!" she called out, getting to the door and opening it before they could.

Yusei was standing outside, not looking cold at all, despite the only cover he was wearing was a dark blue jacket that went well with the black trousers and red top that could be seen under the jacket.

"You came!" Aki hugged him, and then dragged him inside. She shut the door, and then turned to introduce Yusei. Before she could open her mouth, Sumire butted in.

"Who, exactly, are you?"

"I was about to tell you before you interrupted…." Aki muttered. Yusei however, made a point of ignoring the hostility, and introduced himself to Sumire politely, then, after nodding a greeting to a stunned Setsuko; he went over to Michiru and knelt down to her height.

"And you must be…..Michiko-Chan?" Aki stifled a smile. Yusei knew full well what the little girl's name was. The deliberate mistake had the desired effect. Michiru burst into giggles.

"My name is Michiru!"

"Oh, ok then…Michiko."

"Michiru!" More giggles from both sides. Yusei grinned and stood up. Then, he looked at Aki.

"Do I get a tour then? I've always wanted to see your hometown."

Aki thought about it, then remembered Sumire and her mum. She looked behind her. Sumire had since got bored and went somewhere else in that large house, but her mum was still there, watching to see what would happen next.

"Why don't you wait a while? I still need to introduce you to my Uncle and Atsushi-san."

…

"That's my middle school." Aki pointed to the grey building with the bright red roof tiles. Yusei nodded, looked at the sign: "Hikari-South Middle School."

He looked at Aki, and signed.

*What was it like?*

Aki smiled wistfully. When they were together alone, Yusei had gone back to his silent self, the one he was most comfortable with. Not that Aki minded. She didn't think her cousins would have liked the muteness anyway…so they didn't need to know.

"Not great." She didn't need to mention the bullying. Yusei already knew.

They walked around hand in hand for a while, until Aki noticed a place she recognised-a park, complete with duck pond and playground. Yusei noticed it too, and pointed.

"Let's go then." Aki said. "It was my favourite place here."

They sat together on a bench, not saying anything for a while. Then Aki pointed to one of the ducks.

"When I was 5 years old, I wanted a pet so badly, but my parents didn't. So, whenever we came to this park, I used to come right here, and watched all the ducks. Then, I picked one and gave it a name: duck is still there. See?"

Yusei looked, and then signed.

*They look the same to me. And what if "Hina" turned out to be a male?*

Aki laughed.

"Never question the logic of a will get you anywhere."

They shared a quick kiss, and then spent the rest of the time chatting and naming the ducks.

…

"You couldn't have at least told us?" Setsuko asked Aki a couple of days later on the ride home. While they were there, both Setsuko and Hideo had acted as if they knew. But the reality was , they were as confused as everyone else in the household.

"Well…." Aki smiled sheepishly, not knowing what to say. Hideo chuckled.

"Either way, you had fun, right?"

Aki thought of Sumire , then Yusei.

"Yep.A lot"

"Well then, as long as you never pull a stunt like that one again, all's good, right?"

Setsuko sighed.

"Well, I suppose."

Aki smiled briefly, and then took out her phone to listen to a song that, hopefully, she'd get to finish this time around.

**Well, I managed it somehow!And, in terms of the story rather than amount of chapters-we are now halfway through the story. I hope to start the next chapter as soon as I can , but I also want to get some requested one-shot out of the way , which will either mean a short next chapter , or a long time between updates…**

**The song used in this chapter was "kanojo wa emerald" , from DAIZYSTRIPPER's mini-album HUMALOID.**

**Anyway , please leave feedback!**


	6. The Start of 5th Year

**Well , I know I surprised a lot of you with Yusei talking again-and that Aki's reaction didn't seem very surprised-but usually when it comes to selective mutism , when the person starts to talk again ,it's best not to act surprised , just to respond as if they've always talked-if the mutism was caused by some kind of fear of talking , then this kind of reaction doesn't really draw attention to the talking , and so the person isn't likely to go back to their mute selves…In this story , Aki didn't actually know this , but it was kind of an unconscious reaction , because she herself has struggled with being self-conscious. As for how**_** I**_** know this-lots of reading….too much, according to mum and dad ….**

**Anyway. Enough of my babbling, let's go on to the chapter!**

The next 3 people that Yusei talked to again were his mum Rikka , Jack Atlas-a arrogant , somewhat handsome 6th year who happened to be another long-time friend of Yusei's , and Crow. All 3 were happy beyond words, being people who could actually remember his voice from those distant times, and both Jack and Crow were quick to inform everyone in their friendship circles of the news.

But those who expected miracles were quickly put into their place. By nature, Yusei was a quiet person. He would talk if directly spoken to, but he rarely spoke spontaneously, and he didn't use words where none were needed. And, after a decade of not using his voice, sometimes he messed up the pronunciation and the words came out like those of a drunken person. But as Aki understood very well, sometimes the smallest steps were the ones that got you the furthest eventually.

The rest of the school year went by, and soon it had finished. A few days before the last day, everyone crowded around the notice boards in the school to see their final exam results. With Emmy leading the way, the group attempted to push through the crowd to reach the board.

Aki felt a tug on her sleeve.

"Stay back a bit." Yusei suggested. Aki was confused a moment, and then realised. Might as well wait until the worst of the crowd left, rather than waste their energy. She called back the rest, and soon Crow, Emmy, Sayuri and Amy were with them, watching the frenzy.

"Shame Delphii isn't here." Amy remarked. "Who's going to tell her whether she emerges as the victor this year?"

Aki gave her a look as if to say: _What?_

Crow explained.

"Since we all started here, in our year group, it's either Delphine-san or Yusei who gets all the top marks. Sometimes they get the same mark in subjects. Most of the time, Yusei wins."

"Not really. In 2nd year I came 5th in History, and Delphine-san was first. And I never do very well in art."

"That's why I said most of the time. Besides, that year you got 1st for everything else. Not to mention you are a computer brain, as opposed to a creative."

Yusei shrugged and smiled.

Aki noticed the thinning of the crowd.

"Better go now."

Within seconds, they all were clustered around the board, looking for their names.

"Nothing's changed.31st for pretty much everything." Crow said. He pulled a face.

Amy scolded him.

"What do you expect, you bunk all the time?!Any worse and you'd be repeating again!"

Crow pulled another face, even stranger than the last.

"You're mean!"

Aki giggled.

"Well, if Delphine-Chan was here, you'd have it even harder!"

"True, true. Let's see your results then, Aki-Chan."

"Please don't call me that…" Aki muttered under her breath while scanning the board. Then…

"Whoa."

"Delphine's going to have kittens when she notices this."

Aki couldn't make out whether Emmy, Sayuri or Amy had said that, but she didn't really care. What she was looking at had stunned her completely. She had come top in Literature, History, Biology and Art. She had also come top in psychology, something that, out of her little group, only her, Delphine and Sayuri had opted to do.

When the realisation sunk in, she turned to her friends with a smile.

"That's pretty amazing for someone who wasn't even here for the full school year..." Emmy said.

Crow continued the sentence "Especially considering you've beaten the school geniuses."

Aki blushed.

"Well…" She made an attempt at modesty. "I came 25th in Chemistry and physics." Her eyes swept over her friends as they laughed off her modesty and they eventually settled on Yusei.

His smile gave her the response she needed.

…

*Start of the New Year .Wonder if we'll be in the same class?* Aki signed lopsidedly, struggling with an umbrella.

*Hopefully.* Yusei replied.

Aki pulled a face and then spoke

"I was hoping you'd say yeah, absolutely…," She yawned, and put her umbrella handle in her other hand. "Why the hell is it raining?"

*April showers.* Yusei, wearing a large-hooded coat smiled.

"I thought that was a British thing "

"Oh well, its spread to Neo Domino. Here, I'll handle the umbrella."

"Thanks. For a while, they didn't speak. Aki hummed a song, the pitter patter of rain and the sploshing footsteps punctuating it .Then...

"Emmy-Chan! Lily-Chan!" The sisters spotted the couple, and ran from their spot in front of the gate to greet them.

…

The next month went by with no real disasters. She wouldn't have thought it'd be possible for Yusei and her to grow closer, but they did. She wasn't in the same homeroom as him, but she was with Crow and Delphine, so she got along fine. They all shared the same maths teacher, a new, cranky guy they all liked to complain about at break time. The weather looked up, and she managed to land herself a weekend job at _Ayaka's. _She started to consider Rikka as an actual friend, rather than just the rather friendly mother of her boyfriend. And speaking of friends, she befriended a shy 1st Year student who went by the name of Riva Yuki Misaki , introducing her into the circle , and making an instant favourite out of Lily , who was pleased to no longer be youngest in the circle.

Then in mid-May, the happiness slowly started to crumble.

As usual, she went to knock for Yusei. Since his house was nearer to the school, it made more sense for her to go to his place and then to school with him, rather than him coming backwards before going forwards. But that day, he didn't answer.

"Rikka-san? Yusei?" she called a few times. When she got no response to that, she gave up. If she walked fast, she'd get to school a few minutes early. She could always text him then. Possibly he was ill, and Rikka was taking care of him-it could be pretty hard, being a single mum. As she walked, she bumped into someone wearing the school uniform.

"Sorry!"

"Sempai!"

Aki blinked.

"Oh, Riva-Chan!Sorry, mind somewhere else…"Aki tried not to show the thing thread of worry that was starting to unravel. The two girls started walking. Riva's dark purple eyes regarded Aki.

"Where's Yusei?"

Aki blinked. This girl was quick to notice things.

"I dunno. Maybe ill?"

"I see." The younger girl said in a tone that suggested she didn't, not completely. Until they got to school, they talked about other things.

17 minutes later, on her way to homeroom, she watched to see if any of them registered Yusei's absence. They didn't, and although she itched to ask, she felt she was being just a bit irrational, and decided to wait. The group split up as they went to their various homerooms.

For Aki, homeroom dragged. She tried to get the attention of Crow, and communicate a silent message to him. She figured that as Yusei's closest friend, he'd know what was up. When that failed, she sat there, and tried to think of other things. For a while it worked. She then attempted to get his attention on the way out of the homeroom, but those attempts were lost on the classroom babble.

She eventually gave up, until lunchtime. She had got to their usual spot early, and only Riva was with her.

When she spotted Crow with Delphine and Amy, she waved them over. They had barely sat down when she fired her question at him.

"Do you know where Yusei is? He hasn't answered any messages, and didn't answer the door this morning."

Crow blinked. "Repeat again, but slower."

So she did. Crow sat, face wrinkled in thought. Aki watched him. His dark blue headband slipped down, almost covering up his eye .Crow pushed it into place. The movement triggered a thought. He sat up.

"Aki, what's the date?"

"Huh?" She didn't know what that had to do with anything.

"It's the 16th, Hogan-Sempai." Riva supplied.

"Thanks Yuki-Chan," Crow nodded. "Yep, that explains it." Crow nodded again, like a wise old man.

Aki grew mad "Explains what?!"

Delphine, Amy and Riva were quiet. Crow regarded her with his grey eyes. His expression was grave as he silently unpacked his lunch, opened a crisp packet, and took a crisp. Munching it, he waited until he had swallowed it fully before speaking again.

"I'm surprised…He never told you, then? "

**And for now, I'll leave it there. A cliff-hanger of sorts.  
Please leave feedback!**


	7. Part of his story,Being a Savior

**I know how annoying cliff-hangers are, and I promised that this chapter would come up as soon as possible , so here it is.  
Please enjoy.**

A tightly wound thread of concern started to unravel in Aki's stomach.

"No…I don't think he's told me anything to do with today. Why?"

"On this day, in the year Fudo-sempai turned 6, his father went missing." Surprisingly, the answer had come from Riva, and not Crow. The tattooed boy glared suspiciously at her.

"How did you know?" Delphine also gave the younger girl a look. Although she had not known Yusei for as long as Crow, she had been part of their circle of friends for a very long time.

Riva looked down at her lunch, some of her black hair falling over her eyes, in her usual shy manner. Then she looked up and gave Crow an intense look.

"Papa was one of the reporters covering the Toru Fudo case in the papers." She explained.

Delphine didn't seem to buy it "Really? But you know, that all cleared up 14 years ago. Hardly anyone remembers it."

"Papa keeps all his articles and research." Riva said everything quietly, like she didn't really want to be dragged into longer conversation. Aki looked briefly at Riva. Her mannerisms sometimes reminded her of Yusei. She wouldn't have been surprised if they were actually related.

Delphine sighed in exasperation. "Well , since Crow knows the most from being Yusei's friends since forever , and Riva has the advantage of her journalist father's knowledge , why don't the pair of you get on with it and explain to Aki. She has a right to know!" Aki allowed herself to giggle quietly at her glamorous friend's fieriness and then composed herself so she could listen to the story.

Crow and Riva alternated when telling, first him, then her and back again.

"16 May, the year Yusei turned 6. Don't ask what year that was, I'm crap at maths unlike you lot. But anyway, one day Rikka-san goes to wake Yusei's dad up and he's not there. First Rikka-san thinks that he has simply stayed in his lab for the night, she doesn't worry, instead, she goes and helps little Yusei get ready for school."

"But once Yusei was in school, she remembers that Toru Fudo can't have stayed there, since he came home that night. They had roast dinner that night, and Toru Fudo is not the type to stay in the laboratory all night , unless it is absolutely despite being known as a genius in his field , he is very good in everyday life –charming , popular , a devoted husband , a brilliant father. There was no reason for him to have simply upped and vanished in the middle of the night. But there didn't seem to be any other explanation for his absence."

"Rikka-san's a calm person though. Before calling the police, she called his work place, In case he had left early for whatever reason. He hadn't. I remember even Yusei had registered that something was up, at school that day he said to me that 'Daddy left early today . Isn't that weird?'"

"Rikka Fudo called the police in the afternoon. Investigations turned up nothing."

"Well, for an exact year they didn't. Yusei practically worshipped the ground that his dad walked on, and that entire year was total hell. Then, 16th May, the year he turns 7…"

The story paused there. At that moment , Emmy and Lily joined them. When they sat down , Lily instantly unpacked her lunch and started to munch happily at it , oblivious to the tense atmosphere around her. Emmy , on the other hand , picked up on it , and asked.

"What's going on?"

"Telling Aki –Chan about Yusei." Crow replied.

"Please don't call me that." Aki muttered. Then she turned to Riva.

"What happened next?"

Riva hesitated. Then she said.

"Toru Fudo turned up dead that day. "

Aki blinked. She had known that Yusei's father was dead, but never that he had disappeared then turned up exactly a year later.

"How?" she wanted, needed, to know.

Riva opened her mouth to answer, but then Delphine said.

"I think Yusei needs to tell you that himself."

Crow nodded agreement, and then added. "The whole thing was mad, and for a long time both Rikka-san and Yusei was hounded by reporters and the like. Especially Yusei, despite him being so young. In other words, confidentiality because he was under 18 was just thrown out of the window."

At that comment, Riva looked a bit guilty.

"You were a baby at the time, Yuki-Chan. "Emmy pointed out, noticing the look. Riva smiled at her, discreetly ignoring the fact that she too had addressed her by her middle name rather than her first.

Yusei's absence made a little sense now, in the light of these answers, but she was still a bit confused.

"So , what do I do now?"

Nobody had an answer to that, so they changed the subject, and the conversation emigrated to the back of their minds.

…

3 textsfrom Emmy, all a random anecdote from the day before. Two from Lily, more silly anecdotes .One from Sayuri, asking for details on any homework she missed. One from Riva, a reply to something she had sent to her a couple of hours ago. Nothing from Yusei. And how many messages had she sent him in the past 4 days? Near enough 30. Pathetic. She should have been annoyed at him for ignoring her, but instead she just felt sad. Sad that he hadn't told her about his past. Sad she couldn't do anything to help. Well, it's not like the past could be changed. Just look at the scars on her arms. But still…

Quickly , she tapped out a reply to Sayuri's message , then turned off her phone, got up from her desk , and left her room.

Downstairs , she went straight into the kitchen and stuck her head in the fridge to find a snack.

"Looking for snowballs?"

"Dad!" Aki pulled out of the fridge , laughing "You scared me!"

Hideo laughed.

"What you up to?"

"Food." Aki replied.

"I see. I think your mum bought some brownies yesterday. They're in the cupboard above the oven."

As soon as he had finished the sentence, Aki was over by that cupboard, tiptoeing. After a few seconds of searching, she turned and grinned, holding the tub. She opened it and said.

"Afterwards, I'm going to see Yusei and Rikka-san."

Hideo nodded.

"Be back in time for dinner. Don't tell you're mum that I was the one who told you where to find these."

"Roger that." She pulled out one of the brownies and munched, and her dad left the kitchen.

…

"Yusei does tend to get a little emotional around this time of year. So do I, but having my shop helps. And I wasn't the one who saw Toru die. "Rikka smiled apologetically at Aki as they sat in the small living blinked. She hadn't known that Yusei had witnessed his father's death. That put a spin on things. She didn't show her surprise , however. She had developed a skill of not appearing stunned by anything by now.

"Does he usually ignore everyone?"

"Well…I don't know. Past years, he's been mute, so I don't really have anything to compare from."

Aki nodded.

"Well, if it's OK, can I try talking to him here quickly? Not too long. I have to get home for dinner."

Rikka gave a half-shrug, as if to say "why not?" so Aki got up and went to Yusei's room door.

She knocked.

"Yusei?" No answer. She repeated his name. And waited.

The door opened slightly. She could see some of Yusei's face in the gap. His expression betrayed nothing.

"Hard time?"

Yusei nodded slightly.

"I know." Then she backtracked. "Well, I don't know exactly, since I've never been in your situation but I know the feelings…You know." Aki was starting to confuse herself.

Yusei laughed. The door opened completely, and they stood facing each other.

"What have you been doing then?"

"Wandering around. Visiting the .Studying."

Typical Yusei, not wanting to fall behind, even in the middle of a sad was as a loss as to what to say next. Then she noticed Yusei was signing someone.

*How did you cope with yourself?*

Aki blinked. Then her thoughts collected themselves. Here was the chance to tell him what she was thinking, these days of his absence. But she didn't have the words. Finally, she said.

"To be someone's saviour, you don't always have to make miracles. Sometimes, all you need to do is exist , in order to be someone's saviour." There was silence following the words. Then Aki noticed the time.

"I better go. I'll see you at school tomorrow." She left, saying good bye to Rikka on the way.

Her mood had brightened up somewhat after seeing Yusei. By telling him that she'd see him at school, she knew she was assuming a bit too much. But she knew for sure that he had understood her answer, which was why she believed that he'd be there.

These days , it was a lot easier to put her faith into things.

**I hope this was a satisfactory chapter for you. I think that either the next chapter or the one after will end up being the last , depending on how I decide to move things on from here.**

**Please leave feedback!**


	8. Summer Fun :Part 1

"Yusei?!" Emmy, Amy, Lily and Crow's mouths dropped open in unison as he joined their little group at the school gates the next morning. Delphine, Sayuri and Riva also looked surprised, but managed to be discreet about it.

"That's my name. Don't wear it out." Yusei joked. The group walked on, and Yusei and Aki exchanged a smile.

The rest of the day went on as though Yusei had not been absent for 4 days. The usual laughter and jokes were exchanged, and they started to make their first plans for a group study sessions to be held over the summer vacation.

When it was home time, Crow told Yusei he wanted some help with the day's homework, so Aki ended up walking home with the girls.

After a few streets, Lily skipped ahead, then turned to look at Aki , stopping the group .

"Well?" She asked.

"Well what?" Aki asked. Emmy rolled her eyes

"Lil , please , we need to get home quickly , remember?"

"This won't take a minute Em-nee. Well, how did you get him to come back?"

Aki sighed "he wasn't going to not come back, Lily-Chan."

Lily gave a grin. "Oh please, c'mon, you must have a secret,boy-charmer!Did you bribe him? Get on your knees and beg? Propose?"

Aki had to laugh at the craziness of Emmy's little sister. "Talking."

"About what?"

"11years ago." Aki replied. Lily blinked in confusion, then realisation spread across her face and she went back to walking with the group.

"How come you have to get home?" Riva asked.

"Oh, Dad and Maiko-san are going out for the first time since being married. Since Charlie is at College, we have to babysit the terrible twins." Emmy replied. The terrible twins were Emmy and Lily's 6 year old step-siblings. Only the elder twin, the girl, Kaori, was the terrible one, as far as Aki could tell.

Riva nodded.

"Then, can I come over too? Maybe I could help out?"

"Why? " Aki had just noticed that Riva had walked past her house, and not bothered to go in.

"No reason , really." Riva was evasive.

"Sure. I could use the help." Emmy said . "Right, Lil?"

"Yep."

Riva nodded her thanks, and the walk continued.

When Aki got home, she changed out of her uniform, ate a sandwich, and went straight to Yusei's house.

…

The rest of the time passed quickly. The weather got warmer and warmer, and the pace of lessons slowed down until they came to a standstill. Then, it was the holidays.

The first couple of weeks , Aki alternated between visiting Yusei , her Saturday job and attempting to complete her summer homework.

The third week , she packed her bags to go to Riva's. The study session was to be combined with a sleepover and general mini-holiday at her summer house near to the was looking forward to it. As she packed her parents watched.

"Aki, are you sure about this?"

"Yeah mum, it will be fine, really. Yusei Emmy-Chan, Riva-Chan and all the others will be there."

"Yuki-Chan's father is Kaneshiro Misaki, right?"

"Dad , She doesn't like being called Yuki but yes, he is."

" 's a talented writer, I'll give him that."

"How long was it going to be for?"

"4 nights."

"Make sure to charge your phone, and take enough money with you , if you get lost just…"

"Dad ,Mum , I'm fine , really!" Aki rolled her eyes. Hideo and Setsuko simply smiled at her typical teenage reaction.

"Ok then. Study hard and have fun, OK?"

Aki saluted her father "Roger that." She finished up, zipped up the case , and pulled it out of the room.

"Here , let me help."

"Thanks , Mum. "

"I'll help too!"

"Are you 5 or 50?" Aki gave her father a look as he carried her backpack downstairs. "You do realise there is only one suitcase , the shoulder bag and the backpack?"

"yeah , whatever."

The family shared a laugh together , and Aki left the house.

…

They were hanging around Emmy's house , waiting for Crow and Riva to arrive.

"They're late! Why are they late?" Lily moaned as she paced around their living room.

Kaori and Shiro, the terrible twins , mimicked Lily's pacing.

"You 3 , stop pacing , Lily , stop , they'll be here! Riva-Chan's going to take a while anyway…she's the one taking us there!"

"Auuu…I want to go now! I've been looking forward to this since it was planned."

"Lily-Chan , you're so melodramatic." Sayuri laughed , ignoring the fact that she too was a drama queen

Aki smiled " But , you know , she's not the only one who wants this to start as soon as possible. "

Everyone stared.

"What? Can't I safely confess that I enjoy being with my friends?" She asked.

"Course you can. " Yusei told her.

She gave him a grateful look , and went to say more , when the bell rang. Kaori and Shiro ran to answer it , and familiar voices drifted through.

"They're here! LET THE FUN BEGIN!"

Aki winced at Lily and Sayuri's loudness, but couldn't help laughing.

The fun was really going to begin.

**Yes, I know , this chapter was kind of short – but there is one more chapter + an epilogue on the way**

**Please give feedback ^^**


	9. Summer Fun: Part 2

**I know it has been a very, very long time since I last updated, and I am very sorry about that . It's going to be a lot harder for me to regularly update **_**anything **_**from now on anyway ,since I have started 6****th**** Form and I have to do more studying and I get more homework…you get the idea.**

**Anyway , enough of me and my babbling/complaining. Time for the final chapter ^^**

" place is yours, Yuki-Chan?" Crow asked.

"It's Riva." She stated not-so-discreetly "And technically, it belonged to some relative of my father's , until that relative died and inherited it.A family friend of ours , Yoko-San , looks after it when we don't stay ."

"Cool."

As everyone pulled out their suitcases, Riva went over to talk to her father. Aki glanced at the two quickly. They seemed friendly enough, but also a bit tense, awkward. Soon, Riva had waved her dad off, and they faced the red front door. From the pocket of her denim shorts, Riva pulled a set of keys, and opened it.

They all spilled inside.

"Yoko-san? Are you here? Yoko-san?"

Silence . Then , a movement could be heard from inside a room. A woman of about 55 years of age wearing grey trousers and a dark green top came out .Her hands were floury , as if she'd been baking , and this gave Aki reason to believe that Yoko had come from the kitchen.

"Riva –Chan!You have grown! " The girl was pulled into a soft and floury hug before Yoko looked at the rest of the group.

"These are your friends?"

"Yes, they are. Meet Delphine, Emmy, Lily , Sayuri , Amy , Aki , Yusei and Crow. Emmy-sempai and Lily-sempai are siblings. Aki-sempai and Yusei-sempai are _together._ " Riva put emphasis on that last word , and Yoko nodded.

"I see. " The woman looked as if she was thinking of her first memories of young love.

"What rooms should we use , Yoko-san ? " Delphine asked.

"Well." Yoko replied "I'm all for romance: Riva –Chan will tell you that , but since you are minors…Yusei-Kun and Crow-Kun , share one room ,And since there are 7 of you girls , I guess you can decide how best to split up yourselves." Yoko failed to notice Aki's embarrassed blushing or the vaguely confused-looking face of Yusei.

"Sounds' fine to me " Riva turned to the group. "I'll give you a tour. Then we can come down for dinner, because it is getting a bit late now , yes?"

"I was making dinner when I heard your keys , Riva-Chan .Go , go , get yourselves comfy."

…

"That bedroom there is the one I use all the time .That one is Mum and Dad's."

At the end of the tour, they were now debating bedrooms.

"Yusei and Crow are the only boys in our little harem, so maybe they should use the loft bedroom." Lily suggested.

"Why?"

"Because, dummy, there will be less chance of the pair of you bursting in on us in the bathroom."

Yusei signed something rapidly in response to this.

Everyone blinked.

"He said that he'd knock anyway. " Crow and Aki translated at the same time. A look was exchanged , and Aki giggled quietly.

Yusei signed again and this time Aki did the translation herself.

"The loft room is fine . He speaks for both ."

Crow pulled a face.

"There is nothing wrong with the room. It's awesome, you know." Emmy said.

"It isn't the room…"

Delphine kicked Crow.

"You, Crow Hogan, are an official pervert. Anyway, Since the whole point of this trip is to be together, Riva can share your room with 2 of us , and the rest will share the other. "

In the end, Aki, Riva and Emmy were together, and Delphine, Lily, Sayuri and Amy were in the same room together.

Riva's room was a colourful place. The walls were covered in different squares of paper in various colours and patterns, and on closer inspection some were actually wrapping paper and not wallpaper. It was neatly done, and The final effect was like a patchwork quilt. The carpet was white and calmer. There were two beds .One, which was clearly Riva's, had a real patchwork quilt , and the other had pink covers.

Riva reached underneath the pink bed and pulled out a bag... She opened it, and a sleeping bag fell out.

Aki volunteered to use the sleeping bag. She had never used one.

After they'd had a quick shower and change, they all went to eat.

…

"Mmmmmm that was the best dinner in a while!"

"Yoko-san has always been a good cook!"

"You are one lucky girl, Riva-Chan!"

"Hey, hey , what are we gonna do tomorrow?"

"Study in the morning, beach and fun after that."

"Auuu…"

"Shut up, Lily! That's what we came here for anyway remember."

"Whatever."

"I'm not really that lucky anyway. I don't actually live here you know."

"You are lucky to have it. "

"Yeah."

"Anyone got any chocolate?"

"You STILL hungry?"

"…"

"Well?"

"What are we studying tomorrow?"

"No idea."

"Dunno, whatever we feel like ."

The threads of random conversation whirled around Aki and Yusei who hung behind, talking (or rather, not-talking) and walking together. After an age of silence between them, Yusei quietly asked.

"How do you feel?" It wasn't a routine question.

"Like I am finally a normal 16 year old."

"You do realise that before, you weren't 16? " Yusei pointed out.

Aki gave him a look. "I know _that_. You knew what I meant."

*Yeah, I know. I know how it feels.* he signed back.

"Hey, you two, get over here!" Lily yelled before the conversation could be lengthened.

…

The study session the next morning started surprisingly smoothly. Between them, they decided that Aki, Yusei and Delphine were the smarter ones, and should take over the bulk of the "teaching". Both Aki and Yusei gave each other a look at this decision, but got on with it all the same.

"Can you tell me what….the function of valves are?" Aki didn't really feel cut out to teaching , she wasn't really sure if she was doing it right.

"Backflow? Prevent Backflow?"

"Correct…Crow! Where are you going?"

"I , umm….nowhere in particular , just over there…."

Aki rolled her eyes.

"Get back to the biology. And remember: Always be specific when you lie."

Crow pulled a face.

Delphine reached over and slapped him around the back of the head, and continued to teach.

After a couple of hours of peaceful studying with no real disturbances, Emmy stood up, yawned and stretched.

"Ok, how about we stop all this now and hit the beach?!"

The suggestion was met with glee, everyone instantly shutting their books and heading back to their rooms.

…

Aki pulled her red swimsuit from her suitcase and regarded it with some apprehension. She knew (because of being told many times in the past year) that her body figure was a good one, and the swimsuit would flatter it, but she still felt a bit awkward.

Riva, who had already changed, casually walked over.

"You know, although it is real sunny, sometimes the wind can make the beach a bit cold." Then she picked up a small bag and her flip-flops, and went to the door.

"I'll see you downstairs. "She added before leaving.

Aki smiled to herself, and pulled out a red-black button-down shirt.

In 5 minutes, she was downstairs along with everybody else.

…

Delphine laid out all the towels, picked up the various bags and pairs of shoes that had been discarded by the others dumped them into a pile at the corner of their towels and sat down, sighing loudly.

Aki laughed.

"Want me to carry out revenge?"

"Please do. I'm just going to have a nap. OH , and tell Crow that if he splashes me, I will kill him 18 different ways. With a paperclip."

Aki raised an eyebrow.

Delphine shrugged.

"I've always wanted to say that. "

It was Aki's turn to shrug, and then she took off her button-down shirt (she was using it as a cardigan), and went into the water. Within seconds they were all splashing each other and shrieking with laughter .Well all of them except for Delphine and Yusei. Yusei was standing there, looking as if he wanted to go in and join the fun, but wasn't sure how to.

Aki splashed Crow again, then left the water and went to Yusei.

*What's Wrong?* She signed.

After a hesitation, he lifted his hands to reply.

*Not sure.*

Aki nodded .Thought a while. Then she took his hand in hers.

"Baby steps." She said simply, before they went to join their friends.  
Emmy spotted them and grinned.

"Now we can have a game! Yusei, Crow in one team! Us girls in the other. "

"What game?" Aki wanted to know.

Emmy grinned "I have no idea. Let's just get the ball and see what happens."

Everyone rolled their eyes .

"We're still kind outnumbered. Me and Crow." Yusei pointed out.

"Don't be spoilsports. " Lily accompanied this statement with some hideous face pulling.

"Wasn't going to be."

"Good."

Aki went and got the ball. When she got back, Emmy and Lily were in the middle of an argument that was being carried out in English. Aki listened, and when she stopped following the meaning, she got bored and chucked the ball at the pair of them . It hit Lily , who squawked in surprise and instantly threw it back at Aki , who smartly dodged it , causing it to hit Amy. She then threw it at Crow, and it wasn't long before everyone had been hit multiple times-and they were still laughing.

They got out of the water eventually , and went over to where Delphine was sitting . Aki dried herself off and then put on the shirt , buttoning the two top buttons.

"Anyone got anything to eat?" She asked

"Delphine does." Crow said.

Delphine gave a glare as she sat up to unpack it.

"So do you. You have to share too. "

Crow grinned.

"Didn't say I would not."

Riva asked "Do you two ever not argue?"

Emmy laughed.

"No, they don't. But they still love each other. "

"_Love_ may be too strong a word." Crow muttered. Everyone laughed, and after a long pause , so did Delphine.

"Watch your house after we get back , you may find a fish on your doorstep. " She said between laughs.

Everyone except for Yusei and Riva looked blankly.

"You all are so un-read.!" Delphine declared. Aki laughed, thinking of her bookshelf.

The rest of the day went by in a similar manner. Thankfully, there were no food fights, but Aki had a feeling one would be there soon.

When they went back to Riva's summer home, the sun was about to set.

"We definitely need to do more studies." Aki pointed out.

"Yes, yes we do." Riva agreed.

"How about we go to the beach after lunch instead of before?"

"That's a good idea, Yusei. "

The others agreed.

…

The next couple of days passed well. Although each day was filled with both useful learning and tons of laughter and silliness, nothing stood out in particular. Except for the fact that Aki didn't get much time to be with just Yusei. The few moments they had, someone always came along about a minute later. Usually Crow, Lily or sometimes Emmy. But they had spent a lot of their time outside of this holiday, so neither of them really minded.

On the last night, Yoko baked a cake. A chocolate cake.

"Yoko-san, you shouldn't have. " Aki exclaimed in surprise at seeing it.

Yoko shook her head.

"No trouble at all , little one. I have no kids or husband or grandkids to be baking for , so I will bake for you all , since you are Riva-Chan's friends. Besides, I like to bake. It's just a bit of fun. "

"Well , thank you. "

"Yeah , thanks."

"This is awesome, good dinner and excellent cake. "

In other words , the cake was met with enthusiasm and was another high point of the trip.

…

Aki couldn't sleep. She had got into bed at 9pm, and now her phone told her it was 11:30pm.

Annoying.

She sighed, then quietly shuffled out of her sleeping bag , carefully looked around in the cupboard for her slippers and a fleece , and then quietly left the room and padded down to the beach.

The moon was bright, and made the sea sparkle. She found a smooth rock to sit on , and watched the sparkling a while.

Everything was still, until she noticed a figure standing at the water, who also looked as if watching something.

Aki got up and walked a few steps. Then she noticed the silhouetted person had spiky hair.

"Yusei?" She whispered.

He turned and walked to her. They went back to her smooth rock , and she shuffled up so there was space for both.

"Couldn't sleep?" she asked.

Yusei shrugged. Then he said.

"You wouldn't be able to see a view like this at home."

Aki thought about this.

Then she rested her head on Yusei's shoulder.

"You're right."

After that , they didn't say anything to eachother as they watched the moon. They didn't need to.

…

She was surprised to wake up and find that she was still at the beach , that it was morning , and that Yusei was there too, awake and blinking.

Crow and Riva were standing in front of them with quizzical expressions.

"So , this is where you went off to!" Crow exclaimed.

Aki blushed.

"You better get back and start packing. Everyone will be waking up soon u know…and we leave at lunchtime. "

Yusei stood up and yawned , before nodding at Crow and walking back up towards the house.

"I did most fo my packing yesterday." Aki said.

"Smart." Riva commented.

Crow pulled a face.

"Well ….wait until I tell the others what the two of you have been up to." He gave an evil grin before sauntering away.

"You don't even KNOW!" Aki half-yelled, half laughed , as she and Riva began to run back to the house.

She felt a bit sad , thinking about the end of the trip , But ,Just because the trip had ended , it didn't mean that the fun , laughter , friendship and love had to.

**PHEW!The story is finished. The promised epilogue will still be uploaded….not soon, but it will be.**

**Anyway, I chucked in a couple of references to one of my favourite TV Shows and a favourite book . Good luck with spotting them **

**I will put the answers in an author's note at the end of the Epilogue if anyone is interested/curious.**

**Please leave feedback!**


	10. Epilogue

**Here is the epilogue, as promised. Its kinda short, and is from a completely different viewpoint- Please enjoy it. **

_Epilogue: Some years later_

Wounds and scars. Some are inflicted by others; some are gained accidentally, others self-inflicted. Sometimes we are conscious when they happen; sometimes we only realize when it is too late.

I have many wounds. But out of all of them, the one that hurt the most was the fact my son had to watch me die. The realisation that I would not get to watch him grow up.

But I guess I got lucky. Because my death was anything but peaceful and resolved, so I'm stuck on earth, floating around until justice is delivered, but in the meantime-I got to be a father to Yusei on the side-lines.

And today, I get to be at his wedding.

I didn't like that girl, Aki at first. From the moment I saw those scars on her arms I knew that she was really, really vulnerable and needy. I didn't think that the relationship would be fair.

Then again, I hadn't expected that Yusei would be mute for so long.

But since I couldn't do anything about it, I watched. And saw something amazing. Both my son and Aki were wounded people, literally and metaphorically. And they healed each other. Truth be told, it almost felt like watching my young self with Rikka.

Today also feels like designed that red and gold wedding dress with help from Rikka, you know. It's not conventional, but as far as I'm concerned, it's beautiful like the wearer. Look at her smiling. I'm so proud to have her as a daughter-in-law. And as for Yusei…he's so grown up! I know it's the mum's job to cry over how the kid will always be little to her, but since all I've done these past years is simply be witness…I think I can do so too.

I can't exactly join in all the dancing with them, but if you want to go, please feel free.

I'm happy just watching.

**FINISHED!**

**I'm surprised I managed to get this up in a reasonably quick time.  
The references in the last chapter were from TV show NCIS ( 18 ways of killing someone with a paperclip , slap to the back of the head , rule 7: always be specific when you lie) and the book was Paper Towns by John Green(The fish on the doorstep)**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this story =) =)  
Thank you all for reading , reviewing etc. **

**=^.^=**


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